


What's In a Name?

by DivorcedMoonlight



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:28:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29077125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DivorcedMoonlight/pseuds/DivorcedMoonlight
Summary: Have you ever wondered why Carmilla just *happened* to be using the same pseudonym when she met Laura as when she met Elle? Well, here's a quick look at what happened.
Kudos: 7





	What's In a Name?

When her mother summoned her back to the school, she wasn’t exactly keen to go. She was over this whole “befriend and seduce pretty girls so we can kill them” bit. It was old a hundred years ago, and it will still be old a hundred years from now. 

Nonetheless, the leather clad vampire packed up her small bag and took one last lingering walk through the scottish castle she had been living in for the last year or so. The stone walls were cold to the touch and echoed each sound around the vast, empty rooms. She felt another jolt of pain behind her eyes, a reminder from her mother to not keep her waiting. 

“Okay fine fine I’m going.” She grumbled and closed her eyes, willing her body to dissolve into darkness. Holding her bag tightly, she disintegrated into black smoke and melted into the floor. 

She felt the hard ceiling of a floor above her and she gritted her teeth as she drifted upwards and focused on recondensing her body. With a poof, she materialized from thin air, standing in an ornately decorated old wooden house. 

“Dear? Is that you?”

The young woman rolled her eyes and groaned. “Yes Mother. I’ll be right down.” Tossing her bag onto a chair, she walked heavily down the stairs, leaving scratches in the long maple bannister as she did. Years of old marks in the wood were evidence of her previous forced visits to the tacky old house. 

Her mother was standing in the main room, leafing through an old book and holding a glass of wine in one hand. She glanced up and looked the young vampire up and down. 

“Do you really need to dress like that?”

“Nice to see you too mother.” Flopping down into a stuffed armchair, she ran a hand through her disheveled black hair. “Why am I here?”

Her mother looked back down at the book as she spoke. “Well, one of our targets has returned to the cavern as planned, but it seems that her roommate has decided to launch a crusade to find her ‘friend’.”

Her tone dripped with sarcasm and disdain on the last word. With a small huff, she slammed the book closed and turned back to her daughter. 

“Mircalla dear, I need you to go in and dissuade her from this foolish quest and make sure she gets no further information than she has already gathered.”

Mircalla Karnstein raised an eyebrow. “I was Arcillma the last time I was here.”

The older woman turned to a small mirror on the wall and pulled a tube of lipstick out of the purse sitting next to her. “Yes, about that…”

Mircalla narrowed her eyes. “What?”

“Well, I’m afraid that your previous names might be recognized. I think it’s time you reuse an old favorite of mine.” The witch made eye contact with her daughter in the mirror. “Besides, I think Carmilla suits you most aptly.”

The vampire gritted her teeth and fought the shudder that ran through her. Digging her nails into her palms, she launched herself from the chair and glared at her mother’s reflection. 

“You know I haven’t used that name in centuries! Not since…”

The old witch turned her head down, the ghost of a devilish smile pulling at her lips. “Yes I know my dear. But it is the only one you have not yet used at Silas. And I think discretion will be paramount with this little mortal running around causing trouble.”

Mircalla closed her eyes, trying desperately to push down the wave of fear and anger and pain that threatened to consume her. “Ca-Can’t I just use a totally new name? I could be Jessica or something.”

“Now now darling, you know that a lie is easiest to maintain the closer it is to the truth. I think Carmilla will suit our purposes perfectly. Now hurry along. Will will have your assignment for you at the dorms.”

The vampire turned on her heel and stormed back up the stairs, feeling her ears ring louder with every step. She slammed the door closed to her usual room, and slumped against it. Her shoulders began to quiver as she bit her lip and tried to blink away the tears. 

The last time she had heard the name Carmilla, Elle had been brandishing her bloody hand in her face, screaming that she was a monster. Mircalla screamed and grabbed a nearby vase, hurling it across the room where it crashed into the wall and shattered all over the carpet. 

She collapsed onto the bed, shredding the blankets with her nails as she ground her teeth and fought to get the memories back under control. Images of victorian dresses and summer homes swirled past her eyes, just faint enough to tease her dead heart, but not so faint that they had stopped stinging. 

Mircalla took a deep breath, extending and retracting her fangs just to feel the slice of her gums each time they descended. The pain helped to pull back her focus and she managed to chase away the images of her ex lover. She stared up at the ceiling, the drying tears in her eyes hardening her resolve. 

“Fine mother. If that’s how you want to play, then let’s play.”

She stood and looked out across the picturesque campus. “This little brat better not give me any shit.”

And with that, she closed her eyes and disappeared in a puff of black smoke.


End file.
